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UU Haxorus Hits the Griddy Click Here! [Done]

Slip

Slip

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[OVERVIEW]

Haxorus is an appealing sweeper on paper; it has a serviceable Speed tier that beats Excadrill and Rotom-W, coverage in Poison Jab and Close Combat to hit checks like Primarina, Togekiss, and Celesteela, and a Double Dance strategy through Swords Dance + Scale Shot. Unfortunately, Haxorus faces multiple issues that severely limit it within UU. Scale Shot is a very unreliable STAB move that can fall flat on damage and lacks the power to threaten common defensive staples such as Amoonguss and Hippowdon. Defense drops from Scale Shot and Close Combat make Haxorus much easier to revenge kill with priority such as Bullet Punch. Haxorus also finds itself reliant on Life Orb to do necessary amounts of damage, which only worsens its longevity issues stemming from its lack of bulk, resistances, and safe setup opportunities. It can therefore struggle to enact Double Dance and finds itself pressured a lot by faster threats like Nihilego and Hydreigon. It's typically outclassed on its theoretical hyper offense teams by other setup sweepers like Salamence and Gyarados, which have better bulk, types, and moves.

[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Scale Shot
move 3: Close Combat
move 4: Poison Jab
item: Life Orb / Lum Berry
ability: Mold Breaker
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Swords Dance and Scale Shot let Haxorus boost both Attack and Speed. This combination is used over Dragon Dance to keep Haxorus from having to lock itself into outrage while also giving it a better dragon move than Dragon Claw. Close Combat covers threatening Steel-type Pokemon like Excadrill, Skarmory, Celesteela, and Scizor, though the latter three can take an unboosted hit and threaten Haxorus back, and Skarmory even takes a +2 hit. It is also Haxorus's best move against Hippowdon. +2 Poison Jab wipes out Fairy-types like Primarina and Togekiss. Life Orb gives Haxorus a chance to OHKO Celesteela and Scizor at +2 with Close Combat. Lum Berry is an option that lets Haxorus safely set up against Pokemon like Rotom-W and Chansey without fear of status. While Haxorus is threatening on paper, its ability to sweep is easier said than done, as it has few opportunities to set up without taking a debilitating hit in the process.


[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Slip, 566907]]
- Quality checked by: [[Monky25, 515132], [estarossa, 461329]]
- Grammar checked by: [[CryoGyro, 331519]]
 
Last edited:
[OVERVIEW]
- Haxorus has an extremely high attack stat, but due to having a lackluster speed stat compared to other Dragon-types in UU, it is generally outclassed. this part should be elaborated on more, see below
- Having access to Poison Jab gives Haxorus a unique coverage option that allows it to beat out Fairy-types if Haxorus is set up. This coverage is only for niche situations as the options for Fairy-type Pokemon are very limited in the current UU meta-game. not really, scale shot CC and poison jab cover most Pokemon in the metagame. SD clanger had this coverage and was stupidly strong so this isn't an issue
- With the minimal coverage of the set, Haxorus is able to get heavily weakened or beaten by popular Steel-types in the metagame like Scizor or Skarmory, while also getting completely walled by Amoonguss who easily survives anything Haxorus will throw at it in order to OHKO it with Foul Play.

this entire overview needs a rework. most aren't familiar with this format as it only gets used for a few Pokemon that are unviable tier above but banned from tier below, so the errors are ok. here's a step by step way to do this part:

First, talk about why this Pokemon may seem like a viable option. With Haxorus, it's pretty straightforward. Don't copy this word-for-word but this is a general idea of what you want to bring up in the overview. It has a massive 147 base Attack and an ok Speed tier letting it edge out notable Pokemon like Excadrill and Rotom-W to threaten with a KO. Between Scale Shot to overcome this Speed issue while having Swords Dance to wallbreak, plus Poison Jab and Close Combat giving it near perfect coverage for threats that would take it on like Primarina, Togekiss, and Celesteela, Haxorus would seem like a potent UU sweeper.

However, you then bring up its issues. Scale Shot is an unreliable STAB that can put it into range of priority attacks like Bullet Punch and Mach Punch, and even at +2 common defensive Pokemon like Amoonguss, Hippowdon, and Skarmory can take a hit and threaten it back. It can be reliant on life orb to do damage and compounds its longevity issues due to its inability to safely set up swords dance at times because of its poor bulk and limited defensive typing. It is incredibly vulnerable to being offensively pressured by fast Pokemon like Nihilego, Zygarde-10%, and Hydreigon as well because of these issues.

The biggest thing you want to say about why Haxorus is unviable is because it is simply outclassed by Salamence and Hydreigon due to their better defensive and offensive utility courtesy of their Speed, typings, bulk, and movepool. No reason to use SD Haxorus compared to Dragon Dance Salamence on hyper offense or as a Dragon-type wallbreaker compared to Hydreigon on bulky offense and balance.

[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Scale Shot
move 3: Close Combat
move 4: Poison Jab
item: Life Orb / Lum Berry
ability: Mold Breaker
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
- This set for Haxorus gives it the best coverage it can get while not missing out on damage while setting up. Any move from Haxorus will hit extremely hard after a single Swords Dance. fluff info
- Scale Shot gives a boost to Haxorus' speed while also dealing good damage. This can make up for it's shortcomings with speed, but be careful as Scale Shot lowers Haxorus' defenses which can make it vulnerable to more fat Pokemon if you haven't weakened them or Pokemon with priority. be specific, which defensive Pokemon that can take a hit will take advantage of the defense drop. which priority users can pick Haxorus off? also say that this is unreliable stab but is the best option to pair with swords dance so it can boost Speed while attacking
- Close Combat covers threatening Steel-type Pokemon like Excadrill, Skarmory, Celesteela, and Scizor, but the latter three can take an unboosted hit and threaten Haxorus back, with Skarmory being able to tank a +2 Life Orb Close Combat well. is a really solid cover move that can threaten a lot of Pokemon in the tier. This allows Haxorus to have a chance against Steel-types and makes sure that it can burst Pokemon down, without having to worry about how many times Scale Shot hits. add how it is Haxorus's best move to hit Hippowdon and Rotom-W
- Poison Jab prevents Haxorus from being walled by Fairy-types like Primarina and Togekiss, wiping them out after a Swords Dance boost. is the last coverage move to run in order to not get walled by the likes of Primarina and Togekiss. These counters can be passed easily if they are ever weakened or if Haxorus gets a chance to Swords Dance.
-talk about the two items and why you would run them. Life Orb lets Haxorus have odds to OHKO Celesteela and Scizor at +2 with Close Combat and generally amplifies Haxorus's wallbreaking potential, but mention drawbacks that recoil provides such as limited longevity and greater vulnerability to priority. Meanwhile, Lum Berry lets Haxorus take status from Pokemon like Rotom-W and Chansey to freely boost
-give a last point about how Haxorus's sweeping is easier said then done, having little opportunities to set up Swords Dance without taking a hit in the process and halting the sweep. add how it cannot get past bulky Pokemon like Amoonguss without use of Life Orb which heavily compounds Haxorus's limited longevity and ability to set up. say how Dragon Dance sweepers like salamence and gyarados are generally preferred as physical sweepers on hyper offense due to their snowball potential thanks to Moxie and greater defensive typing to generate more setup chances.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Slip, 566907]]
- Quality checked by: [[Monky25, 515132], [username2, userid2]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1]]
QC 1/2, left a lot of changes be sure to implement them all. If you have any questions feel free to ask on discord.
add remove comment
 
clicked here, was not dissappointed
GP 1/1
View attachment 457360

[OVERVIEW]

Haxorus's massive base 147 attack stat makes it an appealing sweeper on paper, especially as is an appealing sweeper on paper; it has a serviceable Speed tier that lets it outspeed beats Excadrill and Rotom-W, coverage in Poison Jab and Close Combat to hit checks like Primarina, Togekiss, and Celesteela, and the ability to double dance a Double Dance strategy through Swords Dance + Scale Shot. Unfortunately, (comma) Haxorus faces multiple issues that severely limit it within UU. Scale Shot is a very unreliable STAB-move that can massively fall flat on damage when needed STAB move that can fall flat on damage and lacks the power to threaten common defensive staples such as Amoonguss and Hippowdon, while it and Close Combat both make it much easier to revenge kill with priotiy such as Bullet Punch due to the defense drops. Defense drops from it and Close Combat make Haxorus much easier to revenge kill with priority such as Bullet Punch. Haxorus also finds itself reliant on Life Orb to do necessary amounts of damage, (comma) which only worsens its longevity issues stemming from its lack of bulk, resistances, and safe setup opportunities. which can worsen its longevity issues it already faces due to struggling to find safe set up opportunities with Swords Dance due to its poor bulk and defensive typing. It can therefore struggle to double dance reliably a lot of the time, enact Double Dance and finds itself pressured a lot by faster threats like Nihilego and Hydreigon, and finds itself typically outclassed on the hyper offense teams Haxorus would be ran on by other set up sweepers like Salamence and Gyarados that have better bulk, typings, and movepools. It's typically outclassed on its theoretical hyper offense teams by other setup sweepers like Salamence and Gyarados, which have better bulk, types, and moves.

[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Scale Shot
move 3: Close Combat
move 4: Poison Jab
item: Life Orb / Lum Berry
ability: Mold Breaker
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Scale Shot pairs well with Swords Dance to let it boost both its attack and speed. It can, however, be an unreliable move due to its potential lose base power and the defense drop can make it vulnerable to priority from the likes of Scizor. Swords Dance and Scale Shot let Haxorus boost both Attack and Speed. (should probably explain why it doesn't just use dd) Close Combat covers threatening Steel-type Pokemon like Excadrill, Skarmory, Celesteela, and Scizor, but though the latter three can take an unboosted hit and threaten Haxorus back, with Skarmory being able to tank a +2 Life Orb Close Combat well and Skarmory even takes a +2 hit. It is also Haxorus's best move into against Hippowdon. +2 Poison Jab prevents Haxorus from being walled by wipes out Fairy-types like Primarina and Togekiss, wiping them out after a Swords Dance boost. Life Orb lets Haxorus have the gives Haxorus a chance to OHKO Celesteela and Scizor at +2 with Close Combat and provides an amp to Haxorus's general wallbreaking potential, as well as improving Scale Shots base damage to offset its unreliability, but can put it into priority range against Pokemon such as Scizor much more easily. Lum Berry is instead an option that lets Haxorus safely set up against Pokemon like Rotom-W and Chansey without fear of status. While Haxorus is threatening on paper, its ability to sweep is easier said than done, as it has little few opportunities to set up without taking a debilitating hit in the process and making it easy to halt the sweep. It can't get past bulkier Pokemon like Amoonguss without the use of Life Orb which compounds Haxorus's limited longevity, and Dragon Dance sweepers such as Salamence and Gyarados are typically preferred as physical sweepers due to their snowball potential through Moxie, and more set up opportunities due to far superior defensive typings. (just restating overview)


[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Slip, 566907]]
- Quality checked by: [[Monky25, 515132], [estarossa, 461329]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1]]
 
Slip said:
This combination is used over Dragon Dance to keep Haxorus from having to lock itself into outrage while also giving it a better dragon move than Dragon Claw.
Click to expand...
"This combination is used over Dragon Dance to keep Haxorus from locking itself into Outrage while providing a better Dragon-type move over Dragon Claw."

this is fine imo, implement and should be ready for upload
 
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